Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish!!!

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supremewhirlpol

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Today I got rid of both machines with a one-two punch!! The nearly mint Whirlpool Clean Touch, which I hated to let go. The Whirlpool Calypso, which I'm glad it's gone. Even if I sold the Calypso for only $55.00, the buyers were so giddy at that machine that they literally carried it out to the truck before I could offer any help! They're smiling now that they think that they ripped me off, but they won't be as happy when the machine has one of its collapso fits! Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish!!!
 
I still have my Calypso....bought it new in 2000 and going on 10 years old in April....still works perfectly, quiet, solid and cleans very, very well. Averages 12 - 16 loads per week - dog blankets, comforters, rugs, dog towels, etc. Does okay with dog hair, not as good as a Filter Flo, but okay. Never an out of balance load. Some of these were hit or miss in terms of reliability, but most were victims of "stupid customer" syndrome, where people tried to use them as ordinary top loaders. And that, they're not!! They are, however, very easy machines to repair.

But I've been completely happy with mine and would buy another one in a heartbeat if they still made them. For the $549 I paid for it at the Outlet store, I have more than gotten my money's worth from it. The nicest thing is that it's a high efficiency washer that uses more than a tablespoon of water to wash with and doesn't dumb down water temps. And this one, so far, has been pretty indestructable. Supposedly, they have a 13 year lifespan. I'd be happy with another year out of it, thrilled with another 3 years. But it doesn't show any signs of giving out yet.
 
some questions

thanks DADoES for sharing these nice vids ! now i really understand your disappointment about the Colapso.
Hope at least during the handwash cycle there's only distribution and spray action without that scary agitation :)

I see that the whole base + impeller isn't solidal with the cylinder. Doesn't anything get trapped in the gap ? I' m referring to such scary moves like this one on the final spin video - 1:40 redistribution before the very last spin -

second question : why there's a fresh water spray rinse after the fabric softener bath ? Isn't FS flushed away from fabrics ?

TIA
Carlo
 
I use the Casual/Delicate cycle for a single set of sheets...does a fine job without all the scary agitation of the normal or other cycles. I usually wash a set of king and a set of queen sheets with 8 pillowcases altogether and use the "bulky items" cycle. They seem to wash just fine. I thought there would be tangling but there's none.

One thing I do notice is that large loads of jeans will sometimes tangle the jean legs together. Not always, but sometimes. And they get badly tangled when they do. They still seem to clean ok, just get tangled. Anyone have the same experience?
 
Some may disagree, and gotten a bad machine, I have 2, one gave me troubles, but once Whirlpool changed out both boards never an issue, the second one just a static charge, unplug for a while and all OK....I've had them over 4 years and no real issues, great machines that are fool proof to load and wash with a fair amount of water.....use Heavy Duty for almost every load, and the Whitest Whites is the best with the bleach rinse.....most of these machines got a bum rap for the issues, they would have done better if Whirlpool would have taken care of their customers right, and because of the way they handle this issue makes you reconsider them for future purchases....customer service?....makes you consider another manufacturer!....just a thought!
 
I say that I would have liked the Calypso a lot better if:
-The drive shaft and pulley were made better(no plastic pulley)
-bearings in spin tube of better quality
-U-joint and U-ball made of Stainless Steel
-basket and hub made one piece and of same materials
-Bigger drive motor, and bigger pulley

Electronics could be better also but I expect for the boards to fail quicker than the rest of the machine.
 
 
Torture and mangle was intended as humor, of course.

I've been using my KQ1 as my daily driver for slightly more than a year. I've not had anything get caught by the wash plate, although it can happen with items such as loose robe ties, very small infant socks, and underwire bras that reasonably shouldn't be put in the machine unless in a mesh laundry bag for delicates. That's not so much a fault of the machine as a matter of adjusting laundry habits to the machine's characteristics.

The wash/rinse action on all cycles is varying combinations of spin-shower (60 RPM) and nutation at speeds ranging from 300 NPM (Heavy Duty) to 150 NPM (Wool & Handwash). Normal & Whitest Whites is 275 NPM. Delicate/Casuals is 225 NPM. Successively-gentler cycles across the panel from left-to-right have more spin-shower time and less nutation. Heavy Duty is more aggressive and is intended for very dirty or large heavy loads ... such as 9 pairs of jeans.  :-)

Whitest Whites is largely the same as Normal, but defaults to hot water, has a 5-min longer wash time across the range of soil levels, and a slightly different bleach rinse phase.

Jeans may tangle some but no more than in (I suspect) most frontloaders. Proper loading helps to a degree. If your machine has the Jeans/Darks cycle, it runs at 250 NPM with a spin-shower and nutation profile more akin to Delicate/Casual than Normal, and fills largely through the fresh water inlet to help flush undissolved detergent off the fabric to avoid spotting, or "frosting" as I've heard it called, of dark dyes.

While I can't say from long-term use experience, I don't think there're any notable deficiencies in the drive shaft & pulley, bearings, or motor size. Supremewhirlpol, you experienced trouble in those areas? The basket would have been much better with an integral hub instead of the aluminum(?) pressed-on hub that was used ... but that same problem is still happening with frontloaders that have stainless steel drums and aluminum spiders. As discussed previously, there were several design changes on the Calypso through the production period (similar to what Maytag did with the Neppy frontloaders). A little better defense against splashing over the tub would also been good.
 
tangling in FL

yes, even fully loaded frontloader do tangle long sleeved shirts and jeans.

Usually, when washing jeans, shirts and easy care clothes one loads up to half cylinder (as if it were a dryer) to prevent tangling, wrinkles and those bad permanent fold marks on jeans

Which are the differences with the Cabrio, beyond the washplate with different impeller ?
 
 
- Calypso is belt-drive with a 1/2 HP AC single-phase variable speed (350 to 4500 RPM) reversible induction motor.
- Cabrio is direct-drive using F&P's DC brushless 3-phase variable speed SmartDrive motor, with a rotor position sensor that allows direct rotational control to function as a 'stepper' motor.

- Calypso has one pump, reversible for recirculation or drain.
- Cabrio has separate pumps for recirculation and drain.

- Calypso basket drive is direct-locked with the drive pulley for spin (via the u-joint/leveler mechanism) and has a brake mechanism very similar to Whirlpool drive-drive/transmission toploaders.
- Cabrio uses F&P's floating basket drive and has no brake (other than if it brakes electrically through the motor).

- Calypso has a water-filled balance ring at top of the basket.
- Cabrio has balance rings at both top and bottom of the basket.

- Calypso wash plate wobbles/nutates via the u-joint/leveler mechanism. It does not rotate/oscillate during nutation. It rotates only when locked with the basket drive when the motor runs in the spin direction.
- Cabrio wash plate rotates/oscillates for wash/rinse action per the SmartDrive motor. It does not wobble/nutate.

- Calypso water level is always below the wash plate, so it must recirculate during wash and rinse to keep the clothes saturated.
- Cabrio recirculates at one or more points during the cycle but does not use recirculation as a primary part of the wash action as the tub does fill with water to at least partially submerge the clothes.
 
DADoES,
Yes, I have had issues with the shaft, U-joint assembly, pump, shaft spline and bearings.

The first Calypso I had was totally destroyed. The U-joint assembly was destroyed, as the aluminum had gotten eaten up by soap and the pivot bearings were destroyed.
The spline shaft that the basket sets on had rusted to the basket hub. Thus making it impossible to remove the basket. I took the motor and boards off that machine and sent it to the trash.

The second machine had a burned out pump motor as it was jammed. Bra wires between the basket and the outer drum. The shaft was starting to rust. There were metal shavings from the tube bearings in the tube. The basket on this one was hard to remove also. There was rust around the spline, but it was not as bad as the first machine.

fridgiman,

If I would have known that you wanted one, I would have let you have this one.

The second machine I got to work, but it still had its issues. I also found that the drive motor was very hot after the end of a full cycle. For a 1/2 hp motor, it looked a little small. 4500 RPM's is high for this type of motor. I think that motor is being overdriven by the inverter.
 
Maybe I just ended up getting 2 problematic machines. But either way, I have played with them enough to know that the Calypso is not the type of machine to be used on a primary basis. For me, I kept it around because I considered it a toy. Since space is a very big problem for me, it had to go. My focus is now on commercial washing machines. If Whirlpool would invest better parts and improve the washing performance of the machine, then I would consider this machine practical.
 
Thanks for the offer
I know that its gone
I'll keep my eyes open and maybe I'll find one on a tree lawn somewhere
 
I'm with Andrew, I have been using mine (Kenmore Version) for 9-12 loads a week for almost 3 years now. I love it! Other than Sears replacing the control boards it has been trouble free. One thing I have noticed, if you "Bob-Load" it, you need to use the 2nd rinse option, or the clothes will smell funny. On the advice of the Sears tech, I run it empty with a couple of cups of bleach on a hot "Express Wash". That has seemed to take care of some mildew smell issues I was having (I also leave it open when not in use).

I bought it used for $60, the guy told me that the control board was out. The real problem was they had not used HE detergent in it. It farted suds for three empty runs, then ran perfect. After about a year of use, I did have to have the boards replaced.

My only complaint is the lint ball that collects where the recirculated water goes into the tub.
 

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